Chapter 1051
Pop Quiz
Cameron was about to leave the park with Young Allison. She was in contact with CamNet. There were several situations developing. One was at the base involving Sheila. Another was with Vanna and Allison. There was a third involving Savannah, Cammy and Gail that was resolved. It was actually no big deal for them. It could have been.
Young Allison hugged Summer and Jan when Sarah and Jim returned. She started to head off with Cameron.
"Can I go with you?" Anna asked Young Allison.
Young Allison looked at Cameron.
Cameron didn't say or indicate anything.
Young Allison knew it was time to make a choice.
"I need you to stay with Summer and Jan for now." Young Allison said. "I want them protected. I appreciate your assistance in this matter. The safety of the girls comes before me."
Anna felt rejected. She knew she couldn't compete with Cameron on any level, even if she was 'Cameron'. She wanted the girls protected as well. If a situation developed, she was to grab the girls and run. She would try to protect Sarah as much as she could. Jim would engage the threat and give them time to get away. She didn't want to look like she was a problem in front of Young Allison.
"I understand." Anna said. "The girls will be protected."
Young Allison knew this was a test too. Cameron made her make the decision. She wanted Anna to go with her and Cameron but there was a greater need to protect Summer and Jan.
Cameron smiled at Young Allison.
They said their goodbyes and took off.
Cameron explained the three situations in graphic detail to Young Allison. She was unfazed. She'd seen everything with her own eyes before or on the internet. It was almost as if she'd done most of those things herself but she hadn't. The only one that she'd ever been, with was herself.
"The situation at the mall seems resolved. The antics of Sheila appear to be over, for now. That's an issue that will need to be dealt with." Young Allison said. "Sheila has been too sexually predatory towards other female Terminators. I don't know what she's done with any of the Resistance females, the human ones. I understand that Sheila has dealt with a number of other females who were associated with crime in various ways. Some of the methods might be viewed as extreme by others."
Cameron looked at Young Allison as she spoke about some of the action that Sheila used against enemy female combatants. They were usually facilitators in the sex trade of young females. They would often lure young females into a situation where they would be taken into custody and 'drafted' into the sex trade. She didn't previously agree with what Sheila did to some of the male and female detainees that they'd needed to deal with. Now it didn't bother her at all. She felt the people that were punished deserved the punishment they received for the line of 'work' that they engaged in. Narcotics and sexual slavery ruined innocent people's lives. The people who dealt in such activity would become Scavengers in the future provided they survived Judgment Day. They weren't going to get that chance on her watch.
It did make her wonder exactly how much Young Allison knew what went on with some of those endeavors. She wondered what all Young Allison had been able to view. She was sure that CamNet would provide her with whatever footage she wanted to watch from the body cam footage on those operations. Now didn't seem like the time to ask. She wasn't sure if any time was the right time to ask about what Sheila did to male and female detainees in her 'off the books' operations. Savannah usually made sure that that didn't happen on a Resistance operation. She was aware it also seemed to bother John a great deal.
Cameron was afraid she would become aggressive with Sheila and would damage Sheila's sheath. She planned on using Sheila's chassis. She planned to either swap her chip into Sheila's chassis or use the tether to control it as her own. She wanted to be with John as 'someone different' and she was going to use Sheila's chassis to do it. She planned to be the one to give John, Sheila's virginity. She realized there was a broad smile on her face. She didn't mention that part to Young Allison.
An idea popped into her head. She wanted Young Allison to address the situation directly. Young Allison was already acquainted with what the issue was and how Sheila operated. There was nothing new to be revealed.
"Can you handle that for me?" Cameron asked. "Sheila may be more willing to listen if you speak with her. I don't want to need to punish her for noncompliance."
Young Allison was a little surprised that Cameron asked her to deal with a sexual issue. That must be another test too. She would meet the challenge.
"I can. I would feel more comfortable if Savannah was with me when I do." Young Allison said. "I haven't 'done' any of those things with others, even if I've done some of them to myself. They're more of a personal nature rather than an operational matter."
Cameron liked the response.
"That's understandable and acceptable. You know when to seek assistance and aren't afraid to ask for it." Cameron said. "What about the third situation?"
Young Allison saw it was more than a situation. It was also an opportunity. She would like to turn it into a 'working vacation'.
"We should head to the beach to reinforce Bob." Young Allison said. "Vanna and Allison are under-protected."
Cameron tilted her head slightly. She'd viewed security camera footage from the small shop that the girls stopped in earlier. She also viewed security camera footage from various locations around the beach in that area. She wondered if she'd missed something.
"What are they under-protected from?" Cameron asked. "Is there a specific threat that I'm unaware of?"
Young Allison read plenty of complaints of females who tried to have a day of fun at the beach or even a public pool. The scenario seemed to play out the same regardless of the location. It seemed to be more an issue of social etiquette and tact than it was of actual physical security. She did remember though that Allison warned her as to what could happen when a female was noticed in the future. To be noticed usually meant something bad was going to happen later on.
"I would have to say they need to be protected from leering eyes, groping hands and cat calls for starters." Young Allison said. "The girls should be viewed as untouchable by anyone. They would be safer with a stronger presence of Terminators with them. That's not the current situation."
Cameron looked at Young Allison to see if she made that statement in jest. It quickly became evident that she was serious. It bothered her some that she hadn't considered that possibility herself. This looked like another example of Young Allison out thinking everyone else.
"How do we fix that?" Cameron asked.
Young Allison already considered several possibilities. They had limited options available to them currently. If they had more time to get other Terminators in place, things could play out differently.
"We can terminate all the individuals involved, withdraw the girls or offer the targets something else to distract them." Young Allison said. "Perhaps we can use a combination of all three of them if necessary."
Young Allison took out her phone.
Cameron looked over at Young Allison. She'd seen her use her phone several times previously but hadn't spoken. She didn't know what she was checking on.
"What are you doing?" Cameron asked.
Young Allison had been a little busy behind the scenes since she'd started out with Cameron earlier. She actually initiated some of the action previous to that.
"I asked CamNet to initiate temporary corrective action on some matters." Young Allison said. "I'm also redirecting the drone that's following us at altitude to stay with Summer and Jan."
Cameron tilted her head slightly. She was unaware of any such events.
"I didn't call for that." Cameron said.
Cameron checked her phone for drone footage. She was surprised at the number of drones that were transmitting.
Young Allison thought she might need to explain herself a little bit. She would normally be in her bunker with Anna and they would be in direct communication with CamNet as well as John Henry and his server. She was away from all of those resources currently. She'd decided to take some preemptive action.
"I called for the drone when they left to go to the park earlier." Young Allison said. "CamNet redirected it to follow me."
Cameron could see Young Allison work with her phone and send additional commands.
"What are you doing now?" Cameron asked.
Young Allison checked to see what the current situation was where Savannah was at. She was satisfied that the situation there was under control. She decided to reallocate some of the resources that were in play.
"I'm redirecting one of the drones at altitude over Savannah to back us up." Young Allison said. "I asked for two for Savannah and one for Gail. They are together now and will remain so."
Cameron was more than impressed with what she'd heard so far.
"What about Allison and Vanna?" Cameron asked.
Young Allison showed Cameron her phone.
"I have one drone on station." Young Allison said. "We can observe them whenever they're not inside of a building."
Cameron looked at the zoomed-in image that was available. She could see Vanna, Allison and Bob dressed in shorts and tank tops as they moved along the beach.
"When did you do all this?" Cameron asked as she checked with CamNet.
Young Allison liked to cover all the bases.
"I like to study for a pop quiz." Young Allison said.
Cameron thought she was the one testing Young Allison. It appeared Young Allison was several steps ahead of her the entire time. She was aware that Young Allison didn't have a lot of time to do all of the things that she did but she did them and they were all in play. It was clear that CamNet backed Young Allison play all along and kept her in the dark.
"A pop quiz is supposed to be a surprise." Cameron said.
Young Allison liked to know what was happening and make sure there weren't any problems. She was the one who'd suggested CamNet have Gail follow Savannah and Cammy earlier. CamNet also informed her of the situation in Sheila's room. She was able to view Sheila's body cam momentarily. As soon as she found out it was what happened to Cammy the night before, she wanted a stop put to it before anybody else was damaged. She looked over at Cameron and flashed her sly smile.
"You were surprised, right?" Young Allison asked.
Cameron momentarily tilted her head slightly as she drove.
It appeared the instructor just became the instructed.
Cameron wondered what else was happening that she was unaware of.
Samantha received direct information from CamNet to act immediately on Young Allison's behalf.
"Get dressed and stay dressed." Samantha said to Sheila.
Sheila didn't like being told what to do, especially by another Terminator.
"Who put you in charge?" Sheila asked.
Samantha didn't want to get into a detailed explanation.
"It was Young Allison." Samantha said. "She's directed me to make sure there's no further 'activity' of this nature for you specifically."
John Henry tilted his head slightly. He'd last been in communication with CamNet.
"Young Allison is involved?" John Henry asked.
Samantha indicated her phone.
"Check your feeds." Samantha said.
Neither John Henry nor Sheila did. They knew when not to question something. This approach was something new.
Sheila wasn't sure where any of this was headed at this point. She checked over Ally and Hanna.
"What about them?" Sheila asked.
John Henry hoped it was a situation that would correct itself. They would find out soon enough.
"I think they may reboot now that the tether has been removed." John Henry said.
Sheila wondered about some of the other possibilities.
"What if they're in 'Sleeping Beauty' mode?" Sheila asked.
John Henry thought the answer to that was rather obvious.
"Then we'll wait for Savannah or Young Allison to return." John Henry said.
Sheila believed there was a third option that was currently available.
"John is here." Sheila said. "We don't have to wait."
Samantha looked around and picked something up from Sheila's dresser and tossed it to her.
"Put your com in." Samantha said. "It's a standing directive from Savannah. John is not to be involved with personal matters of this nature."
Sheila purposely removed her com earlier so that no one could communicate directly with her. She didn't want to admit to that. She didn't want anyone to tell her to stop.
"My com must have fallen out during the festivities." Sheila said.
As they watched, Ally and Hanna rebooted. They were both slightly disoriented at first. Hanna thought she was 'Savannah' and Ally thought she was 'Young Allison'.
Their programming and files soon went back online and reorganized themselves.
Within thirty seconds they both seemed back to normal.
Samantha explained to them what happened and that CamNet was involved and acting on behalf of Young Allison.
"Young Allison has asked for you three to get dressed and get back to work." Samantha said.
Hanna didn't see Young Allison anywhere.
"How does Young Allison know we're undressed?" Hanna asked.
Samantha relayed the information from CamNet.
"She's observing you now." Samantha said.
Ally looked around. She didn't see anyone else either. She didn't see anyone with their phone out or wearing a body cam.
"How's is she doing that?" Ally asked.
Samantha looked at Sheila.
Ally and Hanna saw Sheila look away.
Samantha looked and pointed at Sheila's body cam. It was still directed at them from where she'd placed it earlier in her room.
Ally didn't like this revelation.
"Oh, brother, Young Allison saw all that?" Ally asked. "Do you mean she watched what we were doing?"
Samantha didn't know all the details but evidently Young Allison witnessed some of what occurred.
"Yes." Samantha said.
Ally didn't look happy as she looked at Sheila.
"You put us on a 'spy cam'?" Ally asked.
Hanna wasn't pleased at the news either. She was worried about how much was witnessed. They had been involved in a lot of 'role play' and some pretty wild activity.
"She didn't see everything, did she?" Hanna asked.
Samantha didn't have all the details but thought they might want to think about what they'd done to get to this point.
"She's witnessed everything." Samantha said.
Hanna looked more than a little worried. She was aware that Young Allison spying on her was nothing new but normally she wasn't involved in this type of a setting.
"Beautiful…." Hanna said.
Samantha relayed the information directly to the Metal girls as she received it.
"She only wishes to speak with Sheila about the incident." Samantha said. "You two will face no disciplinary action."
Ally was still upset about being on camera without her knowledge. She was very upset at Sheila.
"Thanks a lot." Ally said. "You could have at least told us we were being broadcast to everyone."
Sheila didn't think they would be as cooperative as they'd been if they knew they were on a live feed. She glanced over at the scalpel that was on the nightstand next to the bed. She'd planned to finish everything off with a little 'modification' to Ally and Hanna. She hoped that no one else spotted the scalpel and asked about it.
Samantha was updated with new information.
"Only CamNet and John Henry have seen the entire file." Samantha said. "Young Allison chose not to review the entire file, at this time."
Hanna didn't feel good about herself at this point. She especially didn't feel good about Sheila. How could Sheila do that to them? She looked at Ally and then at Sheila.
"Let's get back to work and do something productive." Hanna said. "I think we're done in here for a long time."
Sheila looked away from Hanna when she spoke.
Samantha and John Henry left.
Ally looked at Sheila.
"Why did you do that?" Ally asked.
Sheila didn't see what the big deal was. Everything that happened was all things that happened before. Well, except for a few things. She glanced over at the scalpel again.
"We did nothing that was different than we normally do." Sheila said.
Hanna still glared at Sheila. She felt very betrayed by her.
"I don't get broadcast around for everyone to see when I do." Hanna said.
Sheila could see how upset Ally and Hanna were. She wanted them to know what it was really about. She may have used them as bait. She could see that it was wrong to at least not tell them before it all happened.
"I wanted John Henry to see us. I wanted him to see me." Sheila said. "I wanted him to come here and take me. I wanted you two to watch as I lost my virginity."
Ally and Hanna looked at each other with that revelation. They could only see that as another major infraction that would have serious repercussions.
"You can show him yourself since you are going to be alone for a while." Ally said. "You will both be deactivated for that. I would have left the room so I wouldn't be punished when you are."
Hanna looked disappointed.
"I have to agree with her." Hanna said. "You should have told us even if you didn't ask us. You will be deactivated. I'm sure that John Henry will be punished to. If he's lucky he'll only end up as a 'nullo'."
Ally and Hanna collected their clothes and left without further discussion. They headed for another room to be alone and unobserved. They would seek comfort with each other for now. Sheila left both of them feeling violated in more ways than one.
John Henry didn't have all the information. He looked at Samantha once they were away from Sheila's room.
"That all came from CamNet, didn't it?" John Henry asked.
Samantha was surprised that CamNet chose to act through her at Young Allison's request. It should have been John Henry's job.
"Young Allison directed CamNet to handle the immediate situation. Savannah and Young Allison will deal directly with it later." Samantha said. "Why didn't you handle this yourself for CamNet? You could have stopped all of this yourself earlier since you witnessed the entire episode."
John Henry didn't want to compromise himself further.
"It's a long story." John Henry said.
Samantha looked down at John Henry's pants.
"It would appear the story is not the only thing that's 'long'." Samantha said.
John Henry tried to adjust his pants better. He'd been very stimulated looking at Sheila, Ally and Hanna naked in Sheila's room as Samantha explained everything to them.
Allison felt more comfortably dressed now. She didn't like feeling as 'exposed' as she did earlier. There'd been plenty of nudity and exposure in the future. It was like that for everyone so it wasn't a big deal. It wasn't ever an issue. It was a big deal where they were at now in the present. Skimpy clothing drew a lot of lewd and lascivious looks and comments.
"At least I don't feel so naked now." Allison said. "There are more people around."
Vanna hadn't intended to create any issues. She just wanted Allison to look pretty.
"I'm sorry." Vanna said. "I wanted you to look nice. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."
Allison didn't mind being dressed like that in a controlled environment. Cameron usually arranged for a lot of privacy when they were in a setting where skimpy clothing would be worn by any of the girls in the Resistance.
"You know the pool we go to is very private." Allison said.
Vanna was very pleased with that. Cameron even offered to let her wear her bikini instead of the one piece swimsuit in that setting. She still declined.
"Cameron makes sure of that." Vanna said. "She watches over us and takes care of all of our needs."
There was one thing that Allison wanted to know.
"Would you have switched swimsuits with me?" Allison asked.
Vanna felt a little rebellious at times. This was one of those times. She looked around at all the people who didn't have a clue of what was coming and they disgusted her. She wanted to give them a taste of reality but there was no way to explain what that reality was.
"Yes." Vanna said. "I'm not ashamed of who I am."
Allison thought that may be true to a certain extent but a lot of prying eyes were never good for anyone.
"People here will 'look'." Allison said. "It's not like in the future where many people are badly scarred from battle or burns."
Vanna knew what the situation was. She'd just thought about it earlier. It was never anything good to think about.
"I know." Vanna said.
Allison loved Vanna very much and with all of her heart. She didn't like Vanna to need to suffer when it was no longer necessary. They were things she wanted to say but she didn't feel comfortable to say them. She still felt she needed to.
"Vanna…." Allison started.
Allison looked behind them and Bob dropped back to give them some privacy.
"Yes?" Vanna asked.
Allison stopped and took Vanna off to the side away from anyone passing by. Bob remained back but watchful.
There was a personal issue that Allison wanted to address. It was something they'd danced around before. She really cared about Vanna and her future well being. It was a sensitive issue.
"We've talked about this before…." Allison said. "If you want to have cosmetic surgery, I'll support you one hundred percent."
The underlying fear started to rise in Vanna. She didn't want to lose Allison. She was afraid that if she was 'fixed' that Allison might move on without her.
"I don't know…." Vanna said.
Allison wanted to reassure Vanna their love was strong.
"Vanna, I'll never love you less if you do." Allison said. "I promise."
Vanna knew it bothered Allison that she felt it was her fault. She thought that was an issue that Allison needed to address herself.
"Do you still feel it's 'your fault'?" Vanna asked.
Allison cringed a little with Vanna's statement. In her mind she could still see the white smoke rising from Vanna's flesh as the red hot metal was shoved against her smooth beautiful skin. The cry of Vanna's pain echoed in her ears. The stench of burnt flesh soon drifted over her. Vanna stayed there and took the mark for her. Vanna sacrificed for her and she didn't even know her then.
"YES! It was my fault." Allison said. "I know you sacrificed for me, for ME."
Vanna often wondered if that was the only reason Allison was still with her. She thought Allison felt guilty about what happened to her. She was sure once all her beauty was restored that Allison would move on and no longer feel an obligation to her. She didn't want to chance losing Allison.
"I don't know…." Vanna said.
Allison moved forward and hugged Vanna close. She felt very remorseful about many of the events that happened since Vanna left their future. Nothing was ever the same after that. There were too many things that happened to all of them.
"I'll always love you, Vanna." Allison whispered in her ear. "I'm sorry so much has gotten between us. I think most of it is my fault."
Vanna looked at Allison and they both kissed. It was a moment of tenderness and love.
It was rudely shattered.
"It looks like you two could use a real man." A man said.
Allison looked over at the man with disgust.
"When you find one, let us know." Allison said.
The man was about to respond when Bob arrived.
"They have one." Bob said. "Are there any questions?"
The man almost fell over backwards as Bob bumped into him.
"Easy, dude…." The man said.
Allison and Vanna came over to each side of Bob.
"We take care of him and each other." Vanna said.
Allison felt feisty and defiant after the rude comment. Young Allison wasn't the only one with a mean streak and a sense of vengeance.
"Take off before you get hurt." Allison said. "Actually don't, I want to see you get hurt."
The girls released Bob and he moved forward toward the man.
The man took off. He only looked back once.
Bob felt like he was out on a 'fun night' out with Cameron.
"This is getting fun." Bob said. "I might even get to bust someone up to protect my 'beach babes'."
Allison looked in the direction of the man who'd just departed.
"The day is still young." Allison said.
Vanna usually didn't look for trouble but she didn't like the rude comments that the man made towards them. It was clear to her that he had no comprehension of what true love was.
Bob was sure Allison would do something to provoke others and use him to show off. He looked at Vanna and Allison. He would be pleased to accommodate them with any request. He was sure glad that he wore a pair of shorts. He currently had a 'pokie' and it was out of his Speedo. He would be in a very compromising position if that was all he still wore.
Gail hung back as Savannah checked over Cammy.
Cammy looked a little irritated but appreciated Savannah's concern. It was genuine and it was loving.
"I'm fine." Cammy said.
Savannah didn't want to make things worse. She wanted to point out what another possible problem could have been. It was a real problem and not an imagined one.
"Some people are weary of strangers, especially around their children." Savannah said. "The current setting would be bound to make anyone nervous if they were approached by a stranger. I'm sure that if you hadn't had the puppy that the mother would have felt quite alarmed at your sudden appearance at her vehicle with her daughter."
Cammy knew that was true.
"I noticed." Cammy said. "I was just trying to help. I'm glad that you were here to help straighten everything out. Thank you."
Savannah believed it was a fault of modern society the way that people viewed everything.
"Everyone thinks someone wants something." Savannah said. "Few things in life are free without any strings attached."
Cammy only wanted to help. She felt compassion for the small girl. She'd been troubled when the mother threatened to strike the young girl. She was going to prevent that. She didn't think that she should share that information with Savannah at this time. She would probably draw another reprimand. She understood that that reprimand would be justified too. She still would have prevented the girl from being beaten.
"Thank you for explaining." Cammy said. "It was an honest act of good will for the small child. I wanted to do something nice."
Savannah needed to point out what the other problem involved with the entire situation was.
"You did do something nice." Savannah said. "The clerk in the store didn't see the money you left when you ran away with the puppy. They thought you stole it."
Cammy didn't think what she'd done was wrong. She realized she'd taken a shortcut and that shortcut turned around and bit her on the rear end.
"I paid for it." Cammy said. "I make sure I pay for everything. I do it legitimately like you asked me to."
Savannah knew Cameron often took what she needed in the past. That too changed. She'd had the same talk with Cameron. She pointed out that there were millions of dollars in cash laying around the Resistance base and in store rooms from her off the books' operations. She wanted to remind them that they could borrow things as they were necessary but when possible, the individual they were borrowed from should be compensated. People needed to work for the things that they had. They should be compensated for what was borrowed from them.
"I appreciate that." Savannah said. "People need to work hard for their money. They don't have access to unlimited funds like we do."
They both were aware of the millions of dollars in cash that Cameron left lying around both bases from drug and sex traffic raids.
The concept of money still troubled Cammy.
"It's still just 'paper and ink'." Cammy said.
Savannah thought back with disgust to when she was in the various casinos in Las Vegas. The people there all wasted what little money they had. They mostly looked like zombies as they played. They were momentarily pleased when they got back a few dollars out of the few hundred that they'd already lost. They turned around and put it all back into the machines or on the tables again. None of them stopped until they were broke.
"We've been over this." Savannah said. "People assign value to items and if everyone goes along with it, then those items have worth. Don't forget that young females became items of barter in Vanna's future. It was slavery for all practical purposes."
Cammy studied human history.
"That has actually gone on since the beginning of humans and never stopped, even if it is to a lesser degree now." Cammy said.
Savannah thought there was still plenty of it out there.
"The human trafficking that Cameron, the girls and you bust up is a form of slavery as well." Savannah said.
Gail saw they were about finished with their conversation.
"Do you want me to drive?" Gail asked.
Cammy didn't feel there was anything wrong with her or what she'd done. She wanted to show her appreciation to Savannah and that she was willing to sacrifice as well.
"I can drive." Cammy said. "Savannah, I can take you to see CamNet."
Savannah wanted to do that but she needed to finish an earlier project.
"I need to return to the Resistance base first." Savannah said as she checked her phone. "There are a few issues I need to deal with."
Savannah hugged Gail and gave her a kiss on the cheek. She thanked her again for being there for Cammy and her. She quietly asked Gail to follow them back to the Resistance base.
Cammy watched the interaction but didn't say anything. She didn't like Gail sniffing around after Savannah all the time but she did see the value of the extra protection for Savannah.
Everything in life was a trade off, just like Savannah told her before.
Cammy looked at Savannah and decided to make herself more available to Gail. She would try to direct Hanna and Vanna towards Gail. The more that Gail was occupied, the less she would follow Savannah around.
Pop Quiz
Many times in life
People are often cruel
Everything to them
Is some kind of duel
Everything that happens
Doesn't need evaluation
That path usually leads
To some type of accusation
It's always much better
When two people snuggle
There are some who instead
Would rather argue and struggle
There should be time to share
There should be time to rest
One needs to accept the other's best
Everything need not be a test
One will not stick around
They'd rather split and scram
If it appears they're forced
To continually take an exam
It's safe to say most will agree
One would rather see a smile
Than be scrutinized or made
To feel like they're on trial
One needs to think before they act
It doesn't take a genius or a wiz
Before the tables are turned
And the other gives a pop quiz
Nobody